Trump Administration Files Lawsuit Against New Jersey Over ‘Sanctuary’ Immigration Policy
The Trump administration has sued the State of New Jersey and Governor Mikie Sherrill on Tuesday over a newly issued executive order that restricts federal immigration enforcement on state-owned property.
The Department of Justice filed the lawsuit challenging Executive Order No. 12, signed by Sherrill earlier this month, which prohibits Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and other federal immigration officials from conducting secure arrests of criminal illegal aliens inside nonpublic areas of state property, including state correctional facilities.
In the complaint, the administration argues the order unlawfully obstructs federal authority. “This law poses an intolerable obstacle to federal immigration enforcement and directly regulates and discriminates against the federal government, in contravention of the Supremacy Clause,” the lawsuit states.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the policy undermines public safety and federal law enforcement operations. “Federal agents are risking their lives to keep New Jersey citizens safe, and yet New Jersey’s leaders are enacting policies designed to obstruct and endanger law enforcement,” Bondi stated. “States may not deliberately interfere with our efforts to remove illegal aliens and arrest criminals. New Jersey’s sanctuary policies will not stand.”
According to the complaint, New Jersey’s refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities has resulted in the release of individuals “convicted of aggravated assault, burglary, and drug and human trafficking” who would otherwise be subject to removal proceedings.
Sherrill’s executive order, signed shortly after she took office earlier this month, bars federal immigration agents from accessing certain nonpublic areas of state facilities for enforcement actions without state authorization.
Supporters of the measure say it is intended to protect civil rights and clarify the role of state agencies in federal immigration matters, while critics have labeled it a “sanctuary” policy that shields criminal offenders.
On her first day in office, Bondi directed the Justice Department’s Civil Division to identify state and local laws that “facilitate violations of federal immigration laws or impede lawful federal immigration operations.” The Department of Justice published a list of sanctuary jurisdictions on August 5, 2025, prior to New Jersey’s latest order, and has since filed similar lawsuits targeting policies in New York City, Minnesota, and Los Angeles.
The New Jersey lawsuit marks the latest escalation in the administration’s broader legal campaign against state and local immigration policies it argues conflict with federal law.
